Reliable laptop battery sellers in SA?

[Blantyre]

I posted here about my PC BSOD's.

I'm now pretty sure the issue was due to a faulty Astrum battery. I started using the PC off mains and haven't had a single BSOD. The one time I did insert the battery for a few minutes yesterday and the wifi card behaved weirdly which usually happens before a BSOD. I'll just give it a few extra days to make sure with 100% certainty that the battery is the problem.

I strongly suggest that everyone stays away from the Astrum brand in general. This battery only lasted 11 months and I also had issues with their generic chargers for my old laptop. They used to last around 6 months.

I may as well consider getting a battery. The laptop otherwise works fine and it may get annoying as it will just immediately switch off when the plug moves.

I got the Astrum one from a Pakistani guy for R700 last year.

I'd appreciate suggestions to a decent replacement that I could get. I am aware that I will have to be extra careful when ordering online due to specifications. The model is Hp BS1xx.

 

[Papa Smurf]

Well well well
What do you know?
Not one of us bright sparks guessed the battery

/goes off to clean dishes

 

[Blantyre]

What do you know?
Not one of us bright sparks guessed the battery

Me neither. I was on the Computer Hope Chatroom and one guy suggested it might be a power issue. Those guys are quite good at assisting if anyone has software/hardware problems but they are mostly Americans so can't help with SA specific stuff like reliable battery sellers.

It looks like it is most likely the battery but I'll give it a couple more days to confirm.

I also did not immediately suspect it because the battery still lasts about an hour. I knew with the original battery because it literally used to last 10 minutes and switch off at 80%.

 

[Johnatan56]

Well well well
What do you know?
Not one of us bright sparks guessed the battery

/goes off to clean dishes

Again, not sure how we're supposed to guess that he swapped out the battery with a cheap brand, don't think anyone on this forum works as a computer repair specialist besides fixing faulty stuff that friends/family give sometimes.

I'd just relegate that laptop to permanent wall power, save the money for a new battery on getting a new device sometime down the line.

 

[Y2K]

Again, not sure how we're supposed to guess that he swapped out the battery with a cheap brand, don't think anyone on this forum works as a computer repair specialist besides fixing faulty stuff that friends/family give sometimes.

I'd just relegate that laptop to permanent wall power, save the money for a new battery on getting a new device sometime down the line.

I would do the same, trying to keep that laptop going with Frankenstein parts it's only gonna end up wasting you time and money later down the road.

 

[Lara]

I may as well consider getting a battery. The laptop otherwise works fine and it may get annoying as it will just immediately switch off when the plug moves.

I'll get a plug that fits tightly.

I also did not immediately suspect it because the battery still lasts about an hour.

Can you boot the laptop when it's on battery power?

Takealot has a wide range of replacement batteries.

 

[Johnatan56]

I'll get a plug that fits tightly.


Can you boot the laptop when it's on battery power?

Takealot has a wide range of replacement batteries.

It's a very old device, most likely the battery form is no longer produced and any batteries he finds for the form factor will be very old stock or cheaply replaced cells.

Rather just relegate to wall only.

 

[Prom]

Could try sourcing some cells yourself and replacing them.

 

[Johnatan56]

Could try sourcing some cells yourself and replacing them.

Would be hesitant to recommend he do so considering his lack of experience, you don't mess with batteries if you don't know what you're doing.

 

[Y2K]

Could try sourcing some cells yourself and replacing them.

Don't listen to this fool please, copy and paste advice.

 

[Blantyre]

It's a very old device, most likely the battery form is no longer produced and any batteries he finds for the form factor will be very old stock or cheaply replaced cells.

It's actually not that old. April will be its third year but I do use my laptop heavily (often 8+ hours a day) and admittedly, I'm not the best when it comes to taking good care of things. That is something I need to improve.

It did do two rough trips in India and Egypt.

 

[Blantyre]

Can you boot the laptop when it's on battery power?

Yes, which is why I'm a bit confused.

We had a power outage on Sunday. Out of irritation, I just put the battery in as I wanted to do something rather than be unproductive. I watched a documentary which was about 1 hour 45 minutes and the battery survived the whole thing.

I was using the battery a bit this week and the funny wifi thing (where the wifi signal goes off before the BSOD happened) but I did restart it before the BSOD struck.

 

[Blantyre]

It's a very old device, most likely the battery form is no longer produced and any batteries he finds for the form factor will be very old stock or cheaply replaced cells.

I think you confused my other post about the Toshiba L40 (2008 model), I followed advise from guys here and it's workable now for basic tasks so at least I have something as a backup if this one breaks.

The one in question is a HP BS1xx, bought in early 2018.

 

[Lara]

Yes, which is why I'm a bit confused.

We had a power outage on Sunday. Out of irritation, I just put the battery in as I wanted to do something rather than be unproductive. I watched a documentary which was about 1 hour 45 minutes and the battery survived the whole thing.

I was using the battery a bit this week and the funny wifi thing (where the wifi signal goes off before the BSOD happened) but I did restart it before the BSOD struck.

It seems as if the battery is fine if it's capable of booting and playing for so long.
I'm a bit confused when you say you put the battery in. Do you remove it when it is not in use?

 

[Johnatan56]

I think you confused my other post about the Toshiba L40 (2008 model), I followed advise from guys here and it's workable now for basic tasks so at least I have something as a backup if this one breaks.

The one in question is a HP BS1xx, bought in early 2018.

Yep, did.

 

[Blantyre]

It seems as if the battery is fine if it's capable of booting and playing for so long.
I'm a bit confused when you say you put the battery in. Do you remove it when it is not in use?

That's the thing I'm struggling to understand.

The battery is seemingly fine but at the same time, the issue only happens when the battery is in so I'm guessing there might be a cell or two which is bad and not supplying sufficient current?

I put the battery in because we had a power outage the other day and I just wanted to keep myself occupied.

 

[Lara]

That's the thing I'm struggling to understand.

The battery is seemingly fine but at the same time, the issue only happens when the battery is in so I'm guessing there might be a cell or two which is bad and not supplying sufficient current?

I put the battery in because we had a power outage the other day and I just wanted to keep myself occupied.

I'd leave the battery plugged in and obtain new drivers from HP's website.

 

[Prom]

That's the thing I'm struggling to understand.

The battery is seemingly fine but at the same time, the issue only happens when the battery is in so I'm guessing there might be a cell or two which is bad and not supplying sufficient current?

I put the battery in because we had a power outage the other day and I just wanted to keep myself occupied.

Just because the battery lasts doesn't mean it's completely fine. Could also be a broken or unstable motherboard circuit.

 

[BloodrayneZA]

Would be hesitant to recommend he do so considering his lack of experience, you don't mess with batteries if you don't know what you're doing.

Even with my 15 years experience, I know better than to mess with batteries. I vape and am aware of the dangers with batteries and I used to build things with rechargeable batteries. I almost blew up a battery wiring it strong on a circuit and binned the battery as by then it was not safe to use it again.

 

[Blantyre]

I bought a new battery for R720 from Takealot. I was using it on mains for a while but it got too annoying because the plug kept popping out. If this laptop can go another 2 years, I'll be happy as it still gets the job done.